This past weekend many students dressed up and went out to celebrate Halloween with their friends. But Halloweekend presented unique challenges for new transfer students. Amelia Donhauser has the story.
[Intro Music: “Shiny”]
[The crunching of leave on the ground]
FOR MANY NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS, HALLOWEEKEND IS ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED WEEKENDS OF THE YEAR. IT IS A TIME TO DRESS UP IN CRAZY COSTUMES WITH YOUR FRIENDS, PUT MAKEUP ON, AND GO OUT TO
HAVE A GOOD TIME. YET, FOR NEW TRANSFERS, THE WEEKEND ILLUMINATES
THE OFTEN LONELY REALITIES OF BEING A TRANSFER AT NU. WITH SO MANY EVENTS ON CAMPUS, IT CAN BE OVERWHELMING TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONE TO GO TO. ESPECIALLY AS A TRANSFER. IN GENERAL, TRANSFER LIFE IS STRANGE. YOU ARE NO LONGER A FIRST-YEAR,
SO MANY FRIEND GROUPS ARE ALREADY FORMED. YET, YOU ARE NEW, LIKE A
FIRST-YEAR, DESPERATE TO INTEGRATE YOURSELF INTO THE COMMUNITY.
HALLOWEEKEND REMINDS THE NEW TRANSFERS OF THEIR UNIQUE SITUATION. ANGIE DEBOER, A SOPHOMORE TRANSFER FROM UC SAN DIEGO, SPEAKS
ABOUT WHAT SHE DID OVER HALLOWEEKEND. SHE STARTED WITH PREPARING TO GO OUT.
[AD] So, I went thrift shopping to find a Halloween costume because I thought,
well, maybe I’ll dress up, and I found this pink dress. I was gonna be Elle Woods. Very original, I know.
NONETHELESS, DEBOER SAYS SHE DIDN’T END UP GOING OUT BECAUSE SHE
DIDN’T KNOW OF ANYTHING GOING ON. BUT, IN THE END,SHE IS CONTENT
WITH HER DECISION NOT TO GO TO A FRAT PARTY.
I just know I wouldn’t enjoy it [a frat party] on Halloween. But it kind of sucked to not really do anything for halloweekend. I bet there were other events and things happening. But I just didn’t know about them. Because as a new transfer, it’s just hard to find the information and be in the loop. So yeah, it kind of sucked. But I’m happy with my decision.
THOUGH DEBOER IS YET TO FIND A GROUP OF FRIENDS SHE FEELS COMFORTABLE AROUND, SHE IS HOPEFUL THAT NEXT YEAR SHE WILL BE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE SHE TRUSTS.
[AD] [Next year] I’ll feel like I have a good group of people I can go to events with and feel like I trust them because I really would like that experience. But yeah, I
would like to do that next year. I just don’t know what I’d do.
DEBOER SAYS MISSING THE HOLIDAY WAS PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT FOR HER.
[AD] I love Halloween. I’m a big Halloween person, which is why this [weekend] was kind of sad.
CALLAN SHANAHAN IS ALSO A NEW SOPHOMORE TRANSFER FROM DAVIDSON COLLEGE. SHE SAYS WORD OF MOUTH PLAYS A BIG ROLE AT
NORTHWESTERN WITH SOCIAL LIFE. SHE BELIEVES IT IS EVEN HARDER AS A
TRANSFER TO HEAR ABOUT EVENTS.
[CS] Well, I do think a lot of the information about, like parties, and events are
spread through word of mouth. And so it does feel like sort of a dead end, it’s harder to get information when you are a transfer and you’re not [a part of the community], you’re still you know, trying to connect with the community and make those connections.
IN GENERAL, SHANAHAN FEELS LIKE THERE IS GATEKEEPING WITH THE
EVENTS ON AND OFF CAMPUS CONCERNING SOCIAL LIFE.
[CS] I have heard from transfers and non transfers that sometimes it feels like there’s sort of like a gatekeeping culture with, like, social life.
DEBOER COMPARED THE SOCIAL LIFE AT NU TO UCSD. SHE BELIEVES THERE
ARE MANY MORE INSULAR FRIEND GROUPS AND MUCH MORE OF A WORK- HARD, PLAY-HARD MENTALITY AT NU.
[AD] Everyone’s a little bit more intense. And I think along with that comes this work hard, play hard mentality. And also, I think everyone’s kind of found their friend groups already, and they have people that they tend to associate with and that just really wasn’t really a thing [at UCSD].
BOTH DEBOER AND SHANAHAN WITNESSED HOW HALLOWEEKEND CREATES
A STRONGER BOND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY THAN MOST WEEKENDS AT NU.
[AD] Halloween here is a big deal. I didn't think it was going to be like that, as big
as it was, [compared to] other places that I’ve been. But I completely agree everyone kind of signs this pact to just go out and dress up, and I think it is a
bonding experience. You know, like coordinating outfits weeks ahead of time and getting you’re doing your makeup in the bathroom mirror and listening to music.
[CS] Yeah, I’d say so. I think it also had to do with the fact that I think a lot more people were going out. I think a lot of people that typically wouldn’t go out every weekend were, you know, out and about. So I think that also added to the sense
of community.
DEBOER HOPES TO ONE DAY FEEL APART OF THE COMMUNITY AND EXPERIENCE HALLOWEEKEND DURING HER TIME AT NU. BUT FOR NOW, AS THESE TRANSFERS NAVIGATE A COMPLETELY NEW CAMPUS, THEIR SOCIAL SCENE REMAINS A QUESTION MARK. FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M AMELIA DONHAUSER.
[Outro Music: “Shiny”]
